Pages

"I have never welcomed the weakening of family ties by politics or pressure" - Nelson Mandela."He who travels for love finds a thousand miles no longer than one" - Japanese proverb."Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence." - Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights."When people's love is divided by law, it is the law that needs to change". - David Cameron.

Anti-discrimination and equality legislation has been passed in the UK and across the world to ensure the promise of democracy is a reality for disadvantaged groups. In particular, anti-racist and migrant rights organisations have highlighted and worked to challenge how ethnic minorities have been denied full participation in democratic societies, including in Europe.

Among other institutions, the criminal justice system has often been unable to treat ethnic minorities justly, with cases such as Stephen Lawrence and Trayvon Martin reminding us of the continuing effects of racism, while the practice of Stop and Search disproportionately affects Black and minority ethnic people.

Across Europe, the Roma are particularly vulnerable to such abuse. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this has led to a specific European strategy to improve the lives of Roma across the continent. Romania is only one of the countries that European Roma Rights centre views as failing to treat Roma equally and fairly, highlighting what is calls ‘the Romanian State’s failure to comply with several European Court of Human Rights judgments against Romania in cases of anti-Roma pogroms'.---